Even the earliest civilizations regarded the egg as a natural wonder and a proof of the renewal of life.

As Christianity spread, the egg was adopted as a symbol of Christ's resurrection from the tomb. For centuries, eggs and any breads that used eggs in the recipe were among the foods forbidden by the church during Lent, so it was a special treat to have them again at Easter.

Using an electric mixer or bread machine, mix all bread ingredients, except candied orange and dyed eggs, until dough is soft and elastic. Mix in fruit.

Let dough rise for an hour, covered.

Divide dough into 100-gram pieces. Use greased hands to shape into logs. Twist two logs around each other and place dyed egg in center. Cover pan and let buns rise for 1 hour, or until they've puffed up and are touching one another.

Whisk together reserved eggwhite and another 1 tablespoon milk; brush over buns.

Bake for 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.

Mix rum or apple juice with the dried fruit and raisins; heat, covered, until very warm, over medium flame. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

When the fruit is cool, mix together all of the dough ingredients, except the fruit, and knead, using an electric mixer or bread machine, until the dough is soft and elastic. Mix in the fruit and any liquid not absorbed.

Let the dough rise for 1 hour, covered. It should become puffy, though may not double in bulk.

Divide the dough into pieces a little bigger than a walnut. Use your greased hands to round them into balls. Arrange them in a greased 13- by 9-inch pan.

Cover the pan and let the buns rise for an hour, or until they've puffed up and are touching one another.

While the dough is rising, whisk together the reserved eggwhite and another 1 tablespoon milk, and brush it over the buns.

Bake the buns for 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.

Mix together icing ingredients, and when the buns are completely cool, pipe icing in a cross shape atop each bun.

RECIPE FROM: allrecipes.com

Servings: 3 loaves

¾ cup warm water (100 degrees)

2 tablespoons warm water (100 degrees)

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 eggs at room temperature

2 tablespoons lemon extract

3½ cups bread flour

½ cup white sugar

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

Optional: Additional melted butter and white sanding sugar to use as topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour both amounts of warm water into a bread machine and add butter, eggs, lemon extract, bread flour, sugar and yeast in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough setting and start the machine.

Grease three 8-inch round cake pans.

Remove dough when cycle is finished; cut dough into three equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place into a prepared cake pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.

Bake loaves in the preheated oven until lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Note: Brush melted butter on top of each loaf and sprinkle with white sanding sugar while the loaves are still warm.